Thank you #NetGalley for the eARC of #WeMetLikeThis by Kasie West!

Margot is the ultimate hopeless romantic, clinging to the idea that her great love story has to begin with a meet-cute worthy of a rom-com. So when life keeps throwing Oliver — the guy from a terrible first date — back into her path, she fights the connection between them. Watching their relationship unfold was both hilarious and heart-melting. Their chemistry is undeniable.

What made this even better was Margot’s personal journey — chasing her dream of starting her own literary agency after her world gets turned upside down by a creep (and a$$) of a boss. Oliver, with all his support and golden retriever vibes, fit so perfectly into the life Margot was trying to build, even if she couldn’t always see it.

In terms of the supporting characters...Audrey, Margot's older sister, was insufferable. As far as bad sisters go, she’s high on the list. The lack of real resolution between her and Margot was frustrating and honestly pulled me out of the story at times. Some wounds can’t just be swept under the rug, and I wish that had been explored more. But, Sloane is the best friend and roommate every heroine should have. Ride-or-die, supportive, hilarious — she stole every scene she was in.

The only reason this wasn’t a full 5-star read for me is that some of the family dynamics, especially with Audrey, felt rushed at the end. I needed a better resolution after that emotional abuse. But the romance? The character growth? The sheer swoon of Oliver? Absolutely delivered.

Loved this romance of two people who went on date 3 years ago and had hot making out in a car but ended up going on another date. They keep matching on the dating app and finally start trying to be friends. He is a coder and she works at a literacy agency. But she also is seeing her boss. They start messaging and hanging out more and he has a secret too. Loved the romance and that they found a way together.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read this book and loved her 1st adult romance.

4.25 ⭐️
I’ve read almost every Kasie West book and grew up reading her books, so when I saw she was taking a foray into adult romance I was SO excited. We Met Like This did not disappoint. It was so easy to engage with and I was sucked right in. The characters felt so real and they had such a cute connection and banter. Margot and Oliver also had such good chemistry. This book also felt really unique in concept to me and not trope-y at all, which was refreshing to read in the adult romance genre. I will say that they were times when the pacing felt a bit slow and some of the plot was predictable, but that wasn’t a huge negative impact on the reading experience. Margot’s journey aside from her romance with Oliver was also really well written. I enjoyed seeing her come into herself and be able to assert what she wanted and stand up to her sister. I’m definitely hoping to read more adult romance from Kasie West, but she’s an auto buy author for me no matter what she’s writing!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC of this book!

This fell somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars for me. I was really excited to see this book because I loved the Kasie West YA book I read and was curious about her venture into adult fiction. Overall, it has the same endearing qualities you get from her YA which I really appreciated.

As for the story, I didn't love that it started in the midst of a hookup. I don't mind that type of content at all, but being thrown into it was honestly a little jarring. I did, however, quickly recover and it didn't affect the book for me too much. I really liked the idea of them revisiting each other over a few years on a dating app and that Margot had to let go of her own idealistic conceptions of love, namely the *perfect meet-cute*. Their relationship and the slow(ish) progression honestly really made sense for the characters and I did really like them, with one caveat....

I HATED THE TWIST. Without any spoilers...... whyyyyyyyy???

Anyway, not my favorite twist ever and I wish there was more honesty about the situation from the characters upfront, but alas...

The twist didn't entirely ruin the story for me, though it did probably take 1.5 stars off of an otherwise likely 5 star book. I really loved Margot and Oliver, but the twist did make me a little upset with one of them. While I try not to give away what happened, I will say that there was NO CHEATING INVOLVED between Oliver and Margot and that isn't at all the red flag of this twist. So if that specifically is not for you, you're still safe to read this.

Overall, with the exception of that one thing, I did really love Margot and Oliver and it was fun to read about them falling in love.

Thank you NetGalley and Saturday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First off I am so glad Kacie West decided to jump into the “adult world” of books cause this was sooo good!!!! I’ve read some of her other YA books also good but this one had my in chokehold from the first page! I absolutely adored Margot I loved her character she was so real and funny. Then along came Oliver…again and watching their relationship develop page after page was so beautiful to read. I loved it all!

I've been a big fan of Kasie West's young adult books since the beginning and was excited to give her first adult romance a try. Thanks to a "read now" option on Netgalley, I grabbed it and was immediately shocked to discover a spicy opening scene. I'm a closed door romance reader, so this one isn't for me. I think she'll find some new readers with her foray into the spicy adult genre, but her long-time and loyal fans (which might even include YA readers) will be stunned, and possibly disappointed, by the content.

I was really sad and disappointed when I started reading this book. I love this author’s YA books, as do my daughters and so many other teenagers of all ages. We love her books because they’re clean and engaging and lighthearted with sweet romance. I was so excited to see she had written a book not in the YA category and believed that I was going to get the same clean read as I’ve come to appreciate from her. But I was really shocked and saddened and had to stop reading by the second page. The opening is very explicit. I couldn’t help but think that there are going to be so many young girls and fans of this author’s books, who like me are going to think that the book will be a safe and clean read, only to read the exact opposite of what they were expecting. I was seriously so shocked! I know that there are readers out there who read this level of heat and that’s fine for them. But I hope that the author/publisher will put a warning for readers who will see the author’s name and think that it’ll be a clean read like all of her other books, so they will know that there is explicit content.

Content: I only made it through the first couple of pages and the main couple is making out in the car with the guy having his hand “in her”, sucking on her nipples and I’m sure there’s more but that was just within the first couple pages.

I received a copy from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

This book wasn’t a fit for me. I think the writing was great but I didn’t enjoy the story. The whole premise of them meeting on a dating app three years ago and somehow rematching with each other over the years is a lot of fun. However I found nearly every character to be unlikable. By no means am I expecting perfect characters in a romance but there’s just so much happening here not just with the fmc but the mmc and the side characters. I also really didn’t like the twist and conflict at the end. The book I don’t think did a great job balancing the self discovery journey the fmc was going on with the romance. It needed to be more of one or the other.

I’ll probably give this author another chance if she writes another adult romance.

📱 text messages
🤍 strangers to lovers
📖 book about books (in a way)

single POV
3/5 stars ⭐️
1.5/5 spice level 🌶️

I am very sad to write this review since Kasie West is a favorite of mine. The books I've read are normally sweet and fun and clean. This was book was not. I usually vet my books pretty hard because I do not read books with open door/spice and this was a read now, so I thought I was safe with this author, but the book started off with way too much heat for me and I did not finish. I will need to stick with her YA books, but still vet them.

I absolutely love everything Kasie West writes. Her first foray into the adult romance genre was amazing! I couldn't put it down. I love Margot and Oliver so much. The relationship build up is perfect and I love a strong independent FMC. I preordered it as soon as it was announced and was lucky to receive an eARC through Netgalley. I will always support Kasie West. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

3.5⭐️
ARC REVIEW!!!!

I really enjoyed this book it was very fun and cute the way Margot and Oliver would banter was everything I loved their relationship and how much he believed in her she definitely needed someone like him. Sloane was also an absolutely lovely character she was the perfect best friend and what this book needed probably my favorite character!! Now the drama of this book was not my favorite her family just overall was not great to her and so unsupportive in my opinion she forgave her sister way too quickly I think the whole ending brought down my rating a little. I also wasn’t a big fan of the history between Oliver and her sister it just felt a little unnecessary to me! Overall a cute quick read that I enjoyed!

We Met Like This was such a perfectly balanced book.

I appreciated how true the story felt to the confusion and frustration of your twenties without feeling too trope-y. The dramatic moments were really well paced throughout the book, which made it a quick and engaging read. The relationships were compelling and I felt feelings toward characters along with Margot. And I really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up.

I thought this was a particularly great adult rom-com debut that left me satisfied and hopeful, like the best rom-coms are able to do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saturday Books for the free E-ARC.

This book starts out with a pretty spicy scene between Margot and Oliver after they were "matched" on a dating app. The date was pretty boring, but things heated up in the car. When Margot wanted to go further, Oliver stopped it, which made Margot mad and not want to see him again. Flash forward 2 years later when they match again on the dating app. Margot decides to message Oliver and they form a friendship/semi-dating relationship with him.

So....I will admit that I almost dnf'd this book right at the beginning based on the first scene of the book. It was very off-putting to me, but I am glad I stuck with it. It turned out to be a fun romance with many moments of laughter. I did HATE the 3rd act breakup and was very confused by the obvious mistaken identity/miscommunication, but other than that it was a fun book.

3.5 stars - rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This book was so sweet and provided a meta view of the book world which is always fun. Margot's arc showed a lot of growth and Oliver was a swoonworthy MMC. Their chemistry was amazing and I loved how the balanced each other out. Read if you love a slow burn and second chance romance. The side characters were also very enjoyable although at times the subplot with Margot's sister was a little much but I was happy with how everything was tied together and wrapped up. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Big YAY for Kasie’s first adult fiction!!! I loved this one. I read all of Kasie’s YA books when I was younger so I was SO excited to come across this one and get approved so quickly. This was such an endearing read. I loved Margot and Oliver and their banter and story felt so natural and realistic. I loved Margot’s ideas of what the beginning of a relationship was supposed to be like get flipped on its head. The only reason I’m knocking a star is I did feel like Audrey was just so horrible and the conflict wasn’t entirely resolved with the two of them. I have a sister too so I know what it’s like sometimes to say stuff in the heat of an argument but it felt like there was so much underlying between the two that got breezed over at the end. I also loved the sub plots of this story with Margot really going for it and going out on her own and figuring out who she is and I loved her friends and parents as well. Overall really enjoyed this one and hoping for more Kasie adult fiction moving forward!! Thanks for the ARC

‘We Met Like This’ by Kasie West is such a heart-warming story and the perfect pick-me-up. I was reeled in from the very first page (and spicy opening chapter) and could not put this down. The story follows Margot Hart and Oliver Gray, both romantics at heart, as they navigate the hardships of dating apps. After a terrible first date with stilted small talk but a lot of physical chemistry, Margot and Oliver go their separate ways only to find themselves drawn together again years later. What starts as a fun conversation and light banter over text soon turns into so much more when they realize the chemistry between them is undeniable, and uncommon.

I loved the character development for Margot and Oliver and felt their personalities shine through the pages. Both the characters and their interactions with each other were so genuine and relatable, which made it an even better read. I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone looking for the perfect rom-com. This was my first Kasie West read, and I can’t wait to discover more of her work!

As a fan of Kasie West's previous novels, this was such a fun step into the adult romance book world. I loved the characters and I felt like the plot moved along quickly. There was also enough depth to each of the relationships to make this a great pick for book clubs and reader advisory lists. Retaining all of the charm and witty banter from West's previous work, this is sure to delight fans both old and new.

I LOVED this adult romance debut from popular YA author Katie West! It’s a true rom-com and makes for perfect summer reading.

Margot Hart wants her meet-cute and her romanticism isn’t compatible with dating apps. Her most consistent relationship has been with the guy she keeps rematching with in dating apps… but that date was terrible, even if the drive home wasn’t. As Margot’s life implodes, her and Oliver try to take things off-app again, and test how incompatible they could be with so much chemistry between them.

Okay, so, I was not prepared for the full throttle start -definitely reinforcing that this isn’t YA- but I loved how we jumped from that prologue to where we find our main character in chapter one. I so appreciated that the characters were well written, with fully developed lives and histories… however, I do wish they’d been aged up slightly, they’re not immature but I think some of the plot points would’ve been better suited to a more mature dater. Regardless, the romance was compelling, with witty banter and some laugh out loud moments -I loved the hotel check in scene.
If you’ve read it you’lI just get it when I say I did not love the twist (who would?) but I thought it was an evil kind of brilliant. I respect it.

A great rom-com for this summer, especially if you love a California setting and a glimpse into the literary world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saturday Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25/5
Spice 2.5/5 🌶️🌶️

This is my first Kasie West book and she did not disappoint!

We Met Like This was sweet, funny, and engaging.

I related to Margot in so many ways. And Oliver’s honesty and self control/ability to not take advantage of Margot was so refreshing! I loved that they didn’t just jump to sex, even though they knew their chemistry was off the charts.

I only wish Kasie included more at the end with what happens with Rob. And I did feel like some of the parts that were supposed to be funny felt forced. I did t really laugh out loud, but they were entertaining!

I can’t wait for this book to come out!

Huge Thank you to NetGalley, Saturday Books, and Kasie West for the ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book was phenomenal. I grew so attached to these characters and felt like I was living in the book. Incredible read yet again!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.